Introduction
Students will work in groups of 3 or 4 to design a vehicle powered by a basic mousetrap. Students will be assigned “jobs / titles” in their groups and will employ the Engineering Design Process (EDP) in order to optimize vehicle performance to meet specified constraints and criteria. The project is designed to reinforce concepts related to Force, Energy, Work, Power, Friction, Moment, Rotation and Kinematics. The design process is introduced as an organized approach to facilitate reaching the best solution.
Key Skills / Knowledge
ENGINEERING
1. Understand components of EDP
2. Techniques for useful brainstorming
3. Use of decision matrices to define criteria
4. Optimization
5. Organized building, testing and modification based on physics principles
PHYSICS
1. Basics of energy transfer through drive train design
2. Understanding of the lever and wheel and axle as machines that do work
3. Determine factors that influence friction
4. Determine factors that influence air resistance
5. Connection of force to acceleration
6. Relate torque (moments) to rotation
7. Apply concepts of inertia, center of gravity, stability and weight distribution
